Antirefilling bottle.



F. 'H JCHAPMAN.

ANTIREFILUNG BOTTLE. APPLICATION men JULY 2:

Patented Oct. 23, 1917.

n 2 8. A J\ a M Rm 2 A 4 4 2 HCicafiman an rrr,

FRED H.0HAP1VIAN, OF WINCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

an'rranrrrmus BOTTLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 23, 191W.

Application filed July 21, 1916. Serial No. 110,439.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED I-I. CHAPMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Winchester, in the county of Middlesex and State of lvlassachusettmhave invented'new and useful Improvements in Antirefilling Bottles, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention embodies in combination with a bottle, a stopper which includes a valve seat and a valve combining the functions of a gravity closed valve when the bottle is in any position except nearly inverted, gravity opened valve when. the bottle is wholly inverted, and a float valve adapted'to act by flotation to close the inlet to the bottle when an attempt is made to introduce liquid thereinto in an inverted position. I have discovered in the course of investigations and experiments which I have made that in order efiectually to prevent refilling a bottle in any manner or by any means the valve element of the stopper must have each of the characteristics above indicated, that is, be gravity closed and gravity opened, and alsobecapable of floating at a certain depth. It is also necessary, however, that the valve should not be capable of floating in any amount of liquid which can be contained in the bottle neck above the valve seat when the bottle is upright; wherefore my invention comprises also the means or constr'uctionby which this last indicated characteristic is given the valve.

In order that the utility of my present invention may be fully understood I will briefiy'indicate the methods according to which bottles are refilled. One of these methods is to pour the liquor into the bottle neck, the bottle standing upright, and apply slight suction to the bottle neck sufli cient to unseat the valve and allow the liquor to run past the same. In the case of ordinary anti refilling bottle stoppers having valves of light weight, this method is efficient to refill the bottle to a considerable extent. Another method isto exhaust the air from the bottleto a relatively high degree of vacuum, and'then admit liquor into the bottle,the latter being then inverted. This method'is effective in connection with non-refilling stoppers having heavy valves, which are gravity opened by inversion of the bottle. The only hitherto known type of non-refilling stopper of sible refilling of the which I have knowledge which is effective "to prevent refilling of the bottle by one or the other of these methods, is that which consists essentially in the combination of a float valve with a separate weight, the valve being arranged to bear against a valve seat i and the weight to press the valve against the seat when the bottle is in any position except nearly inverted. But this type of stopper, in order to prevent refilling by vacuum in the bottle must be absolutely tight, for if there is any leakage the excess pressure of the atmosphere over the vacuum' cooling of the contents of the bottle the outer atmosphere presses the float valve tightly against the seat. In practice valves of this type are either made intentionally slightly leaky, or a vent or by-pass isprovided beside the valve seat, making it possible to pour the contents from the bottle under all conditions, but also making posbottle by producing a vacuum therein.

The stopper which I have devised and claimed herein is effective to prevent refilling by any of the methods or possible variations thereof, above briefly indicated, and is also capable of opening under any conditions when the bottle is inverted. The improvements from which the utility of this stopper arise consist in the relation between the specific gravity of the valve and its form, whereby the line, which might be considered for the purpose of this explanation the line of flotation of the valve,

special I is below the line of its contact with the width, however, in such a Figs. l, 5, and 6 are detail elevationsof parts of the valve.

Fig. 7 is a plan view,

Fig. 8 a longitudinal section and Fig. 9 an under plan view of a combined baths. and abutment member which coopen ates with my improved valve.

Fig. 10 is a central section,

Fig. 11 a top plan view and Fig. 12 an under plan view of a cup which is also a valve seat cocperating with my. improved valve.

T he same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the figures. V

In the drawing 15 represents a bottle neck which may be like that or" any well known type of bottle, but provided with a groove 16 in its inner wall occupying a plane transverse to its axis. 17 represents a cup or sleeve which fits within the bottle neck and has an opening throughout its length, the lower end of such opening being contracted in manner as to provide a seating surface or valve seat 18 with which a valve is adapted to co-act. The cup or sleevemay be made of porcelain, glass, metal, or any other material suitable for'tlie purpose, of an external form and diameter adapting it to tit approximately within the bottle neck, but not necessarily fitting liquid tight. I provide a packing l9 to seal the joint between the cup and the bottle neck against leakage of iquid in either direction. Such packing is contained in an annular recess or groove sunk in from the outer wall or" the cup, and may be of any compressible or elastic or other material capable of obstructing and preventing such flow. Cork, rubber, and matted fibers of various kinds are materials suitable for this purpose although not the only materials which may be used. I

A bafiie 20 is set into the bottle neck above the sleeve 17 that is, between the latter and the mouth or the bottle. Said battle may be made in one piece as shown, or in a plurality of pieces, and of any desired material. Among the materials suitable for the purpose may be named glass, porcelain, and all of the common metals. The above enumeration oi materials is given without intent to limit the invention in any way. The body part of said bafile is of materially smaller diameter than the interior of the bottle neck, and'it has outwardly extending flanges 21 and 22, the latter of which is so formed as to provide a groove 23 adapted to receive a locking ring 24 (Fig. 1), of common or other character which may be placed partly in said groove and partly in the groove 16 of the bottle neck. I prefer to unite the cup or sleeve firmly and securely to the battle plug so that these two members are essentially unitary and may be furnished to users as a unit structure adapted to be inserted here may or porcelain,

by the user into a bottle neck after filling the bottle. For this purpose the said membe cemented together after insertion oi the valve, hereinafter described, when made'of brittle material such as glass or otherwise united when made of metal and other materials. Preferably also the baiiie plug is formed with a shoulder 3G entering the lip or" the cup, to make the joint betweenthese members more secure. The stopper constituted as above described, with an included valve, is essentially like the bottle. stopper described in my prior Patent No; 1,181,8l2, May2, 1916, in being adapted for sale and use as a unit; and a valve having the characteristics presently to be described may be used as well in the stopper shown in said patent, and with the same function and effect, as in the structure here shown.

The flange 21 of said batlle has one or more notches 25 (Fig. 7) which are flanked by guard ribs 26 which project toward the flange 22, and the latter has one or more notches 2T angularly displaced about the axis of the baffle from the notch 25 and ha ving guard ribs 28 projecting tOw lCl the flange 21. Said notches 2? and allow the liquid contents of the bottle to be readily poured out, but their guard lips in connection with the angular displacement of the notches with respect to one another efiectually prevent insertion of a wire or any other instrument designed to hold the valve away from its seat. In the end or side of the bafiie plug 20 next to the cup 17 is a recess 28 which is surrounded by ashoulder or abutment 29 designed to co-act with a valve presently described.

The valve, which is shown in Figs 1 to .6, is made of three parts which may, for con venience of description and without limiting intent, be designated as the head 30, body 31 and foot 32. Said parts need not be physically separate parts as here shown, but may be integral portions of a unit construction.

The head 30 is the valve proper. It is the polar segment of a sphere of sutliciently large radius and width to make contact with the valve seat 18, and to make impossible the forcing of the valve past the inner contracted end of the sleeve 17. The line on which the valve makes contact with the seat is designated a, a in Fig. 1. In Fig. 2 the corresponding line a, 0, denotes the plane of the circle in the valve head which would contact with the seat it the valve were. raised vertically from the position which it is shown as occupying in such figure.

The foot 32 has a conical outer surface, the apex of which projects into the recess 28 in the baffle plug when the valve is seated. Said conical surface reacting against the abutment 29 causes, by gravity acting upon against seat 18 at all times except when the bottle is tilted toward the inverted position well beyond the horizontal, as fully explained in my prior Patents 1,092,559 granted April 7, 191a and No. 1,181,842 granted May 2, 1916.

As thus far described the present device does not differ in principle from those disclosed in my prior patents. The feature which I believe to be novel herein and which I now desire to protect is the following: The specific gravity of the entire valve less than that of the liquor put up in the bottle, but is so near to unity, (with reference to such liquor) that it floats almost sub merged therein. It is desirable that the foot end 32 be heavier than the head end 30, or in other words the center of gravity is nearer the foot of the valve and the center of buoyancy nearer the head. The effect of these characteristics is that when the valve isleft unrestrained in the liquor it assumes a vertical position with the foot end downward and the head protruding slightly above the surface of the liquor. The line bZ) in Fig. 2 represents the relation of'the surface of such liquor to the floating valve. F or the purpose of this description it may be termed the liquid line of the valve. In Fig. 1 a similar line 7)b is drawn in the same relative position with respect to the line a.-t// as exists between these lines in Fig. 2. Thus in Fig. 1 the line 7)b represents the distance from the mouth of the upright bottle to which a body of liquor would need to enter the bottle neck in order to float the valve. It also represents the liquid line of the valve when the axis of the latter is inclined.

A highly important feature is that the liquid line 6-6 is below the valve seat line a(t' of the valve when the bottle is up right; or inother words, is between. the valve seat line and the endof the valve.

By virtue this relation between the liquid line and the valve seat line it becomes absolutely impossible to pass liquor by the valve into the bottle either under vacuum or by shaking or otherwise. The buoyancy of the valve causes it to close when the bottle is inverted and liquor allowed to flow into the same by producing a vacuum within the bottle. But when the bottle is upright and attempt is made to fill it by the means and in the manner first described at the begin ning of this specification, that is by pouring liquor into the neck and applying light suction intermittently, which is effective to open the ordinary float valve, the weight of the valve causes it to remain seated. This is due tothe fact that all of the valve head below the seat line a-a protrudes from the liquor, "wherefore the weight of liquor displaced in the bottle neck is not great enough to float the valve. Ifthe liquid line were above the line a0/, the valve would be floated, but when it is at all below the line C60L, even to the slightest extent, the valve remains seated.

This valve not only possesses the valuable feature above noted, but it combines therewith all the useful features of the valves shown in my two prior patents above mentioned. Briefly stated the principle which I believe is new and which I desire to protect by these Letters Patent is the feature of a valve which will float but in which the liquid line is co-incident with or below the seating line when the bottle is upright. This principle is not restricted by any mode of use of the valve, wherefore i do not limit those of my claims which are directed to this principle alone, to a valve having also the additional functions and characteristics described.

1 The term liquid line as used in this specification and in the following claims, is not intended to require a limitation in the valve to one which must float with its seat contacting end uppermost, or with its axis in any specified position. The purpose of making the head end 30 lighter than the foot end is principally to secure the effect of clos- "1g the valve by the wedge action of the valve foot when the bottle is tilted into, or below the horizontal position. Otherwise, so far as the float action oi the valve in stopping the bottle is concerned, it is not important which end is the hea ier, inasmuch as both ends are guided so that the valve can not become reversed, and the result of closing the valve by its buoyancy when the bottle is inverted and the neck filled with liquor, would be secured in any event. Thus whatever may be the relation between the center of buoyancy and center of gravity of the valve, the line 72-7) in Fig. 2 repre sents the liquid line of suchvalve when the latter is allowed to float and is caused to occupy the position shown in that figure, and in both Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 the line .7)7 is the limit of that portion of the valve whercof the displacement in the liquor designed to becontained in the bottle is equal tothe total weight of the valve. If it were possible to support a body of liquid in the bottle neck on the line 5-43 of Fig. 1, such liquid extending up'to or 1 eyond the upper end of the valve, then the valve would float, but

since liquid poured into the bottle neck can not pass the seat line aa, it is evident that the weight o1 the liquid displaced by the valve cannot possibly be great enough to cause the valve to lift.

As to construction, the valve may be made in many ways and forms. For illustration I have shown one of composite structure in which the head is a shell of sheet metal, the body is a block of cork and the foot is a solid block of metal joined integrally or otherwise with a which passes through the cork cc and is upset or riveted into hole 1n the shell. .t referably one end of the body piece is formed coinplemental to the interior of the shell, as shown in l 6, so as to enter and till the cavity in such shell. it is within my contemplation, however, to make the float entirely as a hollow shell oi sheet metal, or other material of one piece or of a number of pieces sealed so as to exclude access of liquid to its interior, appropriately shaped and weigl ted to secure essei the eiilects hereinbetore described. in val e. l'io'vvever made. which has the esential characteristics of buovancv and es entiallv the relation between its seating inc and liquid line as above set forth is within the spirit of my invention and the scope of the appended claii In definition of the terms used in the following claims I would sa} that specific gravitf".- when used withoutqualiiymg expressions, means the specific gravity oi the valve with respect to the liquor intended to be dispensed from the bottle, whatever that may be. T he term liquid line and seating line, or equivalent terms do not mean lines having for such lines ma from a comparison of r ig's. 1. ant ing to whether the valve is in ght or inclined. These terms therefore indicate rather the characteristic of the valve that when seated in the upright bottle, the line of contactwith the valve seat 5. above the plane delimiting the lower boundary of that portion of the valve. the displacement of which in such liquid is equal to the weight of the entire valve.

l t hat. 1 claim and desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. A. valve for preventing; a second filling;- of a bottle. valvebeinp; of specific gravity less than unity with res set to the liquor dispensed from the bottle and of such form that the line on which it makes contact with the coinpleinental seat when the bottle is upright is above the shine bounding and limiting that portion of the valve of which the displacement in said liquid is equal to the weight of the entire valve.

2. a. float valve for preventing a second filling ot' a bottle of such term, proportion and weight that its liquid line is near one extremity of the valve and between such extremity and the line of seating contact of the valve.

3. n. valve for preventing a second filling of a bottle having specific gravity less than unity to such extent that its liquid line is ed positions on the valve v shr t, as appears clea-rl 2, accord- Uopies of this patent may be obtained for which no l floating inverted is below as line of valve h-v grit. I

combination with a e of the bottle r ne 1 vave seat, a bathe i l and having an ii plug located in the hot lo neck between the mouth the and said sleeve, said plug having recess an l a surrounding abutment shoulder near the end adjacent to the sleeve, and a valve contained in said sleeve having a head formed to rea ise contact with said valve and a foot entering the cavity of said plug and provided with wedge sur face arranged to bear against said abutment shoulder when the head of tie valve seated, said valve being of such specific v with respect to the liquid contents o'ravw o" the bottle that its 11 and line when the bott e is in the upright position is below has of its contact with the valve seat.

in combination with a bottle, valve the seat located in the neck of said bottle. an annular reaction shoulder spaced apart i. n 'd valve seat, and a valve having a head adapted to co-aet with said seat and a foot formed w th a wedge surface arranged to co-act simultaneously with aid reaction shoulder. said valve being so proportioned and of such weight that it will heat l1 liquid of the sort contained in the bottle, and that the line at which it crosses the plane of ch liquid when floating inverted is ahove the line on wnich it makes cont-act with the seat.

T. The combination with a bottle oi? a ;valve seat therein a. valve coacting tierevvith, and a reaction shoulder coacting with a part of the valve to exert a wedging action on t 1e latter toward the valve seat when the bottle is tilted said valve being so proportioned and ot such weight that it will iioat in liquid of the sort contained in the bottle, and that the line at which it crosses the plane of such liquid when floating inve ted is above the line on the valve which makes contact with the seat.

in testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

FRED H. CHAPMAY.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents,

Washington, 1?. U. 

